


Again

by mamodewberry



Category: Free!, ノラガミ | Noragami
Genre: Love at First Sight, M/M, Noragami AU, Sourin Xmas Xchange, character mentions by name only, god rin, mild flirting, minor blood, regalia sousuke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 21:20:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5471123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamodewberry/pseuds/mamodewberry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Rin wanted was an Ultimate Team of regalias at his side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RinChanSanMatsuoka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinChanSanMatsuoka/gifts).



> For SouRin Exhange, this fic is for @RinChanSanMatsuoka!
> 
> They requested a Noragami AU with God!Rin and Regalia!Sousuke, with no death or angst and SFW. Hopefully I was able to create something to your fancy. I apologize as I've only seen the anime and I'm not sure how much further some elements are explored. This turned into a slight Samezuka Family fic, oops. Also, Rin doesn't follow a pattern for his naming, (well I guess 'rou' is in there somewhere)... mostly cause I didn't want to change any of the character's names.

Humans, whether they were alive or dead, didn’t understand. Once they’d crossed over to the Far Shore, he thought a human’s capabilities would expand, but apparently it was too much to ask for.  
All Rin wanted was an Ultimate Team of regalias at his side. Not a clan like Bishamon’s (even he wasn’t that ambitious. Plus he wasn’t a major God, he couldn’t handle having that many under his care), but a small team, a handful, would be perfect.

If only he could keep regalias around. 

The last one wasn’t bad: He was strong and loyal, but he was soft. Rin wouldn’t go so far as to call him weak, just lacked the backbone he wanted to have alongside him. He had to give him credit for how patient he was, though. In the end he released him under good faith. If the ex-regalia were to ever meet a certain antisocial water god he knew, he’s sure his compassion would do wonders. 

Before the gentle giant, was a boy that was a ball of energy. Cute kid, but a god didn’t have time to babysit or entertain when there was a job to be done. 

It wasn’t uncommon to release a regalia for bad behavior or blighting, but for the reasons Rin had, it confused his fellow gods. What was wrong with wanting to find a compatible regalia and not waste either of their times? 

He was the God of Passion and, true to his title, felt very passionately about having certain souls at his side for his godship to be realized and shouldn’t be faulted for such a desire. Nor be ostracized for the times he happened to be regalia-less.

Unfortunately the absence of a regalia left him vulnerable to possible phantom attacks and made his job of granting wishes difficult. For him, the worst of it, was being alone. 

He hated being alone.

At least he had a shrine to his name, unlike a god of calamity that he heard his fellow gods speak of. When he finds the regalias that suit him, he’ll definitely have to arrange things for permanent residence. 

Okay, so, said shrine was a humble construction around a cherry tree on the bend of the Nakagawa river and it lacked worship halls or guardians or stairs or a purification font, but it had everything else. For as little time as he had been in existence, he was proud he had gained followers to build a place he could have a roof over his head. And with that small human reputation, why couldn’t it attract regalias with more caliber? 

Red Kimono sleeves, tassels, and hair swayed in the wind as he traveled the path to his shrine. The day went without incident, carefully observing the human world, particularly potential clients. Occasionally looking out for any wandering, uncorrupted spirits. 

It was boring. He needed a regalia soon or he’d find a way to die of boredom and uselessness.

Just as he was about to turn in for the evening to stare at the ceiling of his shrine, a glow caught the god’s eye in the tall reeds by the river bank. He took tentative steps towards it, hoping to not scare it or, heaven forbid, a stray phantom baiting him. 

The spirit took on the form of a fish - no, a miniscule whale - and swam through the reeds like water. As tragic as it was to know the spirit would have had to have died recently as a human here, but so close to his shrine, Rin took that as a good omen. 

The god extended two fingers, pointed, and began the incantation. “You, with nowhere to go and nowhere to return… I grant you a place to belong. My name is Rin. Bearing a posthumous name, you shall remain here. With this name, I make thee my servant. With this name and its alternate, I use my life to make thee a regalia. Thou art Sou, As Regalia, Sousuke. Come, Soki!” In a flash the kanji that he wrote in the air then stamped itself on the whale, engulfing it in white light that then shot like a rod to Rin’s hand. Once the light settled, the god then held an ornate battleaxe. As he gazed upon the impressive weapon, images moved across his mind - an injured athlete with a dream, fitness rooms, hospital rooms, tears, pain, water. 

Rin knew these types well; they were usually the ones that sought his blessing. Impassioned individuals that wanted nothing more than to achieve the goals.

It truly was a good omen. 

For a moment he wavered on his feet at the impact of the memories, shedding a few tears for the deceased youth, chest constricting. Softly he called upon the axe’s name. “Sousuke.”

Hovering from his grasp, the brilliant light expanding, a young man materialized on the damp shore. He was tall and built, wide shoulders and solid chest strained against the white yukata. Teal eyes blinked and took in their surroundings and then landed on the god, thick brows furrowing mildly in confusion.

“I am the god Rin,” Rin said, offering a hand. “I am your new master. I summoned you from the Far Shore to serve as my Regalia. You are to stay by my side.”

“Master?” Sousuke’s expression hardened, giving the smaller man a once over, ignoring the hand.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been questioned his credentials. Especially by unexpectedly intimidating regalias. Regardless, he stood his ground and sized himself as best he could. “Think of it more as a partnership in death.”

This seemed to appease the regalia as he looked to the hand and considered it. After a time, he firmly took it.

 

* * *

 

 

“You who would desecrate this land of the rising sun! With my Advent, I the god Rin lay waste with the Soki and expel thy vast defilement. Rend!”

The three story squid-monster burst at the slash of the axe in an array of gore that then transformed to light fractures and dissipated. 

Rin landed on his feet with the grace of a cat. Taking the hilt in both hands, he flung the blood off Sousuke’s blade and holstered him to his belt as he walked to the unconscious college student on the grass that had been infected by the phantom. Crouching, he looked her over to be sure no harm was done to her body or clothing and gently sat her upright against the park bench. 

With a leap, god and regalia vanished into the air and reappeared at their shrine. 

“Sousuke,” Rin called. The axe glowed and transformed into the human form of his tall companion. “Job well done, today. Three phantoms and your blade didn’t dull. That’s some stamina you’ve got.”

As what became customary of his regalia receiving compliments, his wide shoulders shrugged, folding his arms, causing them to flex impressively. Rin may or may not have been grateful for choosing to give him a sleeveless kimono for this very reason. 

They’d been together for two months and so far they managed to become perfectly in sync. It wasn’t particularly rare to hit things off so quickly, but with how Rin was with selecting and keeping a regalia, it surprised him. Sousuke was obedient, strong, intimidating, and observant in ways Rin appreciated. And to a lesser degree, tell him off when he was being rash. Behind that tough exterior, however, was also a kind soul. 

“Rin,” Sousuke started. 

The god brushed a blossom from his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“I think I understand what you mean by ‘Passion’, now.”

On day two of their partnership, Sousuke inquired as to what sort of god Rin was, and when he said he was the God of Passion, immediately the regalia assumed love. 

_"No, not love!” Flushing, and flailing his arms at the absurdity of it all, eventually the god regained his composure. “Well… sort of. But not specifically! I’m not a love god. Passion, like, an intense emotion towards something. Could be love, could be academics or sports or music or knowledge.”_

_“Aren’t there gods for all of those?” Sousuke asked, lifting a brow._

_“Of course! I just happen to be dedicated to that particular_ feeling _. You could say I literally vanquish their demons of doubt towards something they want for themselves.”_

_“Like dreams…”_

_“More or less.”_

Chortling at the memory, Rin returned to the present. “That so?”

“It’s what drives humans.”

 _It certainly is. And in worst cases, destroys them._  “And what made you realize that?”

“I guess I needed to fight alongside you for a while and see it for myself.”

“Ah, that explains why you’ve been especially sharp, lately.”

The lips of his regalia spread in a gentle way he hadn’t yet gotten used to seeing - soft and knowing as if it were only for him. “You could say that.”

Before the forming flush could reach his cheeks, it retreated as a sting ruptured at his neck. The only thing that would cause that would be… 

Rubbing at his neck, Rin looked back to Sousuke who had walked away from the tree and gone inside to the shrine. 

 

* * *

 

  
A month later, another regalia came into Rin’s life. The silver-haired, ice blue-eyed boy was timid, but determined to please and had all good intentions despite blunders. In a way he reminded Rin of a previous regalia he had. Had it not been for Sousuke taking a liking to him, he may have dismissed him in time. Aichirou he named him - a leather, arm-length gauntlet. 

The three of them were together for six months until a ball of fire joined their ranks to make four. Also a reminder of a past regalia, but somehow the ginger with his rambunctious behavior was a good balance, Rin tolerating it amongst the milder temperaments of his other two regalias. The twin daggers was given the name Momotarou. 

At first glance they didn’t look like a team, more like a pair of parents herding their younglings like chicks, but there was something homey about it. They may not have been The Ultimate Team Rin had hoped for, but they quickly became something far more important to him: a family. 

**Author's Note:**

> [Rin's God attire + Ai Gauntlet](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v493/SharYamato/icons/tumblr_mogv41xcT81qgz09po3_500_zpsy6eq3krd.jpg)   
>  [Sousuke's battleaxe form](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v493/SharYamato/icons/KX-0007-3_zpsxwmdvzxd.jpg)


End file.
